The Paranoids

The plot of The Paranoids introduces Luciano, played by Hendler, who is an anxious and anal entertainer, also struggling to start a career as a popular screenwriter. He constantly worries about his personal health, and appears to be a loser at the start of the film. When Luciano accidentally puts his stage partner, Sherman, played by Feldman, in the hospital, he is forced to stop performing for weeks at a time. When an old friend comes in from out of town, Manuel, played by Jakob, Luciano is renewed with hope. Manuel is the star of a famous television series, dating a beautiful girl, Sophia, played by Stuart, and is an all around impressive character.

Luciano recruits Manuel to help him get back on track, and finds himself faced with an unpleasant truth; while Manuel has helped to find work with a writing assignment, it becomes more and more obvious that he is only helping out of obligation, and not out of a true belief in Luciano’s talents. When Manuel is then forced to leave for a little while due to business, Sophia is left with Luciano, who she finds quite charming. Luciano is then faced with a few moral dilemmas that offer a complicated film about ambition, betrayal, and opportunity.

The Paranoids takes place in Argentina, and was entered into the 2008 Buenos Aires Film Festival. The film has also been nominated for awards at the Seattle International Film Festival in 2009, as well as similar events held in the San Francisco and Toronto areas, held in 2009 and 2008, respectively. While the film has been praised for its subtle wit and cinematic style, the film fails to reach large audiences. With the release of the DVD distributors are hoping to make the film available to a wider audience, as it is deliciously offbeat and worth viewing. The Paranoids has been incredibly undersold, and those who view it will agree that just because a film is not widely popular, doesn’t mean it has nothing to offer. The DVD will include a number of bonus features designed to give the audience a behind-the-scenes peak at the development of the film. There will also be featured commentary and additional footage not previously available to the public.

Country Strong

Country Strong introduces Hedlund as Beau Hutton, a budding musician working toward a career as a singer and songwriter. The young musician is intrigued by Paltrow’s character, Kelly Canter, who is a wasted country star who has slipped into a state of emotional instability. The two become involved with each other due to shared ambitions, agreeing to take the necessary steps to resurrect her career. They embark on a tour that is organized by Paltrow’s husband, James Canter, who also works as her manager, played by McGraw. The tour also features performances by Meester’s character, Chiles Stanton, who is presented as an old beauty queen taking a stab at the music industry.

Country Strong presents an exciting world of music, romance, and lost hopes being brightened with new ambitions. The film portrays an exciting range of emotions, making audiences laugh, cry, and sing at various points along the journey. It has received particular praise for the story’s ability to showcase each principal role in its own compelling way. While many movies that feature an all-star cast tend to draw focus away from character development, Country Strong was filmed with an advanced sense of thematic balance, offering audiences a unique and thorough view at the life of each person involved.

While the story does not appear that deep at first glance, viewers will find that Country Strong offers an incredibly sympathetic look at the backstage of a complex group of performers. This is Shana Feste’s second feature in which she has been able to write, direct, and compile an impressive cast of developed principal roles. A promising presence in the film industry, Feste’s unique approach to the subject material offer audiences a one-of-kind view into a world of hope and struggle. She claims the film was inspired by the trials and tribulations experiences by pop-star Britney Spears, though the plot also parallels the struggles of country star Mindy McCrea. The soundtrack of this film also receives praise for its original musical numbers, promising the presentation of some memorable performances.

Casino Jack

This film has gained popular interest because it is based on real life events, seemingly too ridiculous to be true. Based on the wild and crazy life of Jack Abramoff, Casino Jack follows a business man, played by Spacey, who gets involved in a deep and dark world of deception and wealth. The film follows Jack and his business associate Michael Scanlon, played by Pepper. These partners work together to create an intimidating entity of wealth and power, which they then hold over the heads of prominent men of power in order to gain influence.

Jack and Michael get involved in a number of illegal plans and schemes, requiring the help of a more experienced criminal mind. That’s when they recruit the help of one of their friends who is known to have important connections to the mob. This friend, played by Lovitz, agrees to help with the criminal events, leading the men to venture deeper and deeper into a dangerous world of violence and scandal. As the film continues, the audience is invited into a world of shocking mafia assassinations, lies and deceit, and scandal that continues to spiral further and further out of the control of those who started it all. Those familiar with the story will know how the film ends, but Casino Jack offers a number of insights into the story that spread across world newspapers like wildfire.

What makes this film so exciting is its obvious hesitation to protect any of the people involved in the plot. Names have not been changed throughout the story, including references to ex-president George W Bush and Senator John McCain, nor have locations and many important details. This film is incredibly forthright, presenting a stunning view of a scandal that grabbed the attention of a nation. Using a fictional stage to jab at very real situations, Casino Jack is a bold representation of serious events that allow audiences to view a dark side of American politics and the struggle for power and wealth. Director Hickenlooper even includes actual footage from the hearing against Abramoff, and shots of John McCain taken during the actual controversy.